Behind the Mask
by Constellation of Devastation
Summary: History is written by the winners - here is the loser's account. The Skull Kid's take on the events leading him to Termina, Majora and Link. NOTE: This is a darker universe. Characters will reflect this.
1. Chapter 1

_**EEEEK! **_

_All right. Well, this is the first time I'm doing something on/for . I tend to write my chapters per issue so they're quite short. I had considered grouping some of them together for this but I don't wanna subject you to too much in case it burns your eyes! _

_Um...yeah XD; If y'all like it, I'll make sure to have the longer chapters up. Be nice =3_

_**(I claim no ownership of any character represented herein. All rights belong to Nintendo)**_

**Behind the Mask **

_Chapter One_

It's cold. Too cold. I barely managed to escape the torrential downpour without losing my fingers to frostbite or some other nasty infection. I managed to find shelter in the strange horseshoe-shaped rock outside the southern swamp. I sat, my back pressed up against the cold wall, with my arms around my knees, begging for warmth. I arrived in what a sign told me was Termina a few hours ago and didn't have anyone to stay with; I'm not exactly sure how I lasted this long, to be perfectly honest.

"Ungh." I rubbed my bare legs with my hands to warm them up but the icy water blowing in on the wind sent chills into my bones. I shivered again, directing my eyes to the floor, trying to think of something happy to distract myself.

"Quick, Tael. Hurry. In here," a girl's voice sounded out. It was barely audible over the thunder above but my ears perked up. I looked around; against the darkness brought on by the grey clouds, two fairies shone brightly as they also sought escape the cascading rain in my shelter. The one that spoke before was slightly larger than the other and was a bright cream colour. She was huddled against the smaller one, Tael, who was a deep purple with a red hue on the extremities.

"You poor boy…" Tael spoke sympathetically to me, observing my situation. I flinched at a combination of his words and the biting cold.

"Ungh." I cast my eyes away, wrapping my hands around my knees again. I did not need more judgement from them.

"Come on. We're going to need each other if we want to make it through this," the other fairy assessed. The two flew low and huddled in my arms. They were warm and despite the blistering temperature, they warmed my heart. I never had anyone to hold or to hold me for that matter. It was a strange feeling…being needed, wanted.

"I'm Tatl; and this is Tael, my brother," the white orb of light introduced herself. "What's your name?"

"Um." I never had to think about that before. "Everyone just calls me the Skull Kid," I said finally. I could tell she was taken aback and the shame fell into my stomach like a lead weight. It had been barely five minutes and I already disgusted them. Why was it always like this?

"…Skull Kid? Why do they call you that?" Tael asked. There was something in his voice but there was no disgust, no repulsion. It was genuine interest. This little fairy was taking an interest…in me? My only answer to his question was a half-hearted shrug and it was honest, I had no clue why I was called the Skull Kid.

"Well, it doesn't matter why. It's nice to meet you, Skull Kid." Tatl smiled up at me as she spoke, huddling close to her brother and my chest. My heart beat faster. I had friends.

"It's nice to meet you too, Tatl and Tael." I smiled. A thunderclap overheard startled us and I drew them tighter, holding onto the fairies as if they were my own life.

Darkness took over in spite of the occasional lightning bolt streaking across the sky, casting an eerie flash over the landscape. I shut my eyes to block out the noise. Nothing mattered because, so long as my friends were here, I was safe. My mind slipped into the abyss of sleep, its inviting warmth too great to resist.

'_Cuckoooo!__'_ a rooster crowed, rousing me from my slumber. I revisited the events of the night before and a guilty shiver coursed through me: I had slipped into my dreams and neglected the fairies. I opened my eyes, fully expecting them to have deserted me for my selfishness. When I saw they were still in my arms, dozing quietly, my heart leapt. A smile broke onto my face and my eyes watered but I held the tears back.

"Hey guys…c'mon, wake up," I roused the sleeping fairies. After all, it was six in the morning: time to get up.

"Mmm. What time is it?" Tatl asked groggily, shaking the last of the drowsiness from her mind.

"It's about six. The Cuckoo just crowed," I informed her, letting the pair go as they took flight.

"Really?" Tael chimed in. "What're we going to do with the day? Tatl?" He turned to his sister. "Can we play with our new friend? Please?"

"Sure!" the elder piped. "I mean…if he wants to, that is." They turned to me, awaiting some response. Like there was any other answer.

"Yes! Of course I want to!" I bounced to my feet, beaming.

"Yay!" Tael celebrated. "Lets go for a walk first? Stretch our wings." The little fairy was right: we did need to stretch.

Despite the horrendous weather of barely seven hours prior, the sun was shining and its brilliant rays illuminated the field. As we walked I worked on stretching out the kinks of sleep. Termina field really was a nice place; there were patches of grass scattered here and there as well as a beach to the west. There were some bad things about it too like the veiny heads of the Deku Babas that poked up from long grass to bite the feet and hands of unsuspecting strollers. I was glad to have Tatl and Tael with me as they had enough sense to fly over to any danger to warn me about it beforehand.

"Hey! Guys, come over here!" Tael had raced off on his own for the third time already and was bouncing around near the trunk of a large tree. Quickly joined by his sister and me, he suggested we use the tree to carve a memorial to the day. The task was long as I tried to help my friends carve a picture of the three of us onto the tree with a nearby jagged stone. Eventually it took shape and the familiar tingling that I had grown accustomed to with these fairies rose in my stomach again. We smiled, stepping back from our work.

"From now on, we're friends forever!" Tatl announced happily to eager agreements from the other two of us. Only a few seconds passed before the grumbling of my stomach interrupted the moment. I can't explain it but it was a moment that, although fleeting, was immortalised in our minds and felt like an eternity in seconds.

"Hungry, Skull Kid?" Tael asked sarcastically.

"Yeah," I replied sheepishly, a rogue trace of scarlet finding its way onto my cheeks.

"Maybe we should go to town? There're probably some good restaurants there we can get some food," Tatl suggested.

"I've no money." The feelings of failure crept up again.

"Hm. You need to eat and there's definitely no food around here. I suppose we _could_ try the ranch. Tael and I past it when finding shelter from the rain."

"Would…they give me food…for free?"

"It's our best hope. C'mon!" The two balls of light flew off toward the large arch that was home to an odd looking bird. Its head was blue and totally void of feathers and there was a small tuft of white around its neck. The rest of its body was covered in a navy blue down with large bright eyes scanning the surrounding landscape. I ran past it, not trusting the avian that gave me such an extensive stare as I ventured along.

Milk road was full of strange things despite being very small compared to the field we had come from. The first thing that caught my attention was a small man flying around the road attached to a vibrant red balloon. He was constantly drawing on the paper in front of him so I assumed he was a mapmaker of some sort. Just below him there was a patch of grass that I could have sworn was moving. Maybe my eyes were just playing tricks on me but it definitely looked like it was wriggling around.

"Come on, Skull Kid. Don't dawdle!" Tael called back; they had already reached the other end of the road while I took in the sights.

"Sorry!" I called back, scared that I upset the boy. I ran to catch up and found the gate to the ranch. It was huge. There were massive yellow balloons flying around everywhere but my stomach was begging to be attended to so I had to ignore them.

"Is anyone home?" Tatl called as we approached the farmhouse.

"Yeah, I'm coming now. Hold on, Talon," came the reply from inside. I was nervous; what was her reaction going to be seeing me turning up on her door asking for food and water?

The door opened with a creak and a woman stood on the threshold, her eyes drifting from one fairy to the other and finally to me.

"Hi. I'm Cremia and you are…?"

"I'm Tatl. This is my brother, Tael, and this is our friend the Skull Kid."

"How can I help you?" Her words sounded rude on their own but her voice was sweet. I could tell that she meant no ill to me.

"Well," I started. "I just came here yesterday and have no money for food. We past signs for your ranch and thought maybe you could help. I mean, if you don't…that's okay and I'm sorry for bothering you." I turned to leave, ready for the inevitable negative response.

"Of course we can. Come on in, we were just about to sit down to lunch anyway." I turned to find her smiling down at me, standing back to let us in. For the second time in twenty-four hours my heart swelled. People in Termina really were nice.

I shyly seated myself at the table opposite a smaller version of Cremia who introduced herself as Romani, the younger sister. A bowl of an odd but delicious soup was placed in front of me and hungrily attacked. The hot liquid enriched my body; I could feel it flowing into my stomach, filling me. I inhaled the delightful aroma and the feelings of acceptance came out again. _This_ was heaven.

"You're welcome to stay the night if you don't have anywhere to go," Cremia offered. "I could talk to Anju about getting you a place in town at her inn if you'd rather have somewhere closer to the rest of the world," she added with a laugh.

"An-Anywhere would be brilliant. How can I ever thank you?"

"You can stop _them_," Romani interjected.

"Romani!" The elder chided the young one. "Don't start that again. There are no invaders."

'_Invaders? Well, I dunno if it__'__s true but I vow to do everything I can to save my new friends from harm__'_ I thought to myself, glad to have someone to finally protect.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the review =^.^= Kind words are GREATLY appreciated =P

Sorry about the delay, it's been one Hell of a week so I've never really managed to find the time to throw something up TT_TT

**Behind the Mask**

_Chapter Two_

"Skull Kid! I'm going into town in about an hour, you wanna come with?" I heard Cremia call from the doorstep. Romani and her had been kind enough to grant Tatl, Tael and I the opportunity to stay with them for the night. It sure did beat sleeping in the rain.

"Um, sure. Yes please." Normally I would reject imposing on her schedule more but I would waste a good five or six hours trying to walk back to the town.

"Cool. Just get ready and meet me out here whenever you are."

For the most part, I was ready. I only had the one change of clothes since I could not pack before I came to Termina and I slept in those clothes. I figured I might as well go outside. All traces of the storm from two nights ago were gone and the sun shone happily down on the ranch.

"Look out! I'm late for practice!" a small head of orange hair screamed, running past me with bits of toast flying in her wake. I had nothing better to do for the next hour so I followed the child outside.

"What're you practicing for?" I asked Romani who was grabbing a bow and quiver.

"_Them._" The girl turned around, fear evident in her eyes. My heart skipped a beat. Why was such a kind family hurting so much?

"Who are _they?_" was the obvious question. Romani quickly launched into her explanation.

"Every year just before the Carnival of Time, _they_ come. In a giant glowing ball, they come down to the ranch and head to the barn. I didn't know about them be-before. Dad always handled them but last year…" Tears welled up inside the young female's eyes. "Last year, I heard them. Daddy was out there with his bow fighting them off."

My eyes widened, shock invading my heart and I felt as though I was going to cry at her pain.

"What happened?" I asked. Why did I have to ask something so stupid? Am I that insensitive?

"Well, he got them all in front of the barn," she sniffed. "But there was one behind the barn and daddy didn't notice." She paused under the weight of the memory. "Daddy heard the cows from outside and ran to check on them but _they_ were already abducting the cows and…when daddy went into the barn…" Her statement was left hanging but there was no question in my mind as to what those last words were as tears fell to the grass below.

"I- I'm sorry, Romani." I made awkward moves to put my arm around her but thought better of it. She would not want someone like me hugging her.

"It's okay," she sniffed away the tears. "So this year I'm taking over for daddy but I haveta practice so that I can protect the cows. That's what these balloons are for." She gestured to the large yellow-y balloons floating around the ranch that I noticed last night.

"Target practice then? Can I help? I have an hour until I'm going to town with Cremia." I smiled down at her, seeing her eyes light up with her newest recruit.

"Of course! Here!" she cried, stuffing another bow into my hands. "Take this and go shoot the balloons! Romani will go and shoot the ones over there." She pointed to the far end of the ranch, setting off at full run.

Romani gave me thirty arrows and I only managed to pop three balloons. I was pretty dreadful at this. Her disappointment was evident though she tried to cover it up with a cheerful smile. _What sort of person was I? Finally finding people that like me and I can__'__t even protect them. A total failure. _

"Come on, Skull Kid," Cremia called from the barn. I ran over to where she was, mildly relieved to escape Romani's crippling disgust for me. She was standing next to a large wagon with two horses out the front.

"Get on," she instructed happily, climbing onto the wagon's front. I followed suit. I felt funny sitting so close to her; most people who get this close to me are only doing it to hit me.

"So what're going to town for?" I asked curiously.

"To deliver some milk to the bar there. We're their sole supplier and it's a popular place. It's a miracle they don't sell out." I cringed internally at my own stupidity. I didn't even realise that this ranch sold their produce. Idiot.

"Oh…okay. How often do you deliver?" I struggled the question out, holding onto the wagon's side as Cremia encouraged the horses with her reins.

"About twice or three times a week. We should be delivering more at this point because the Carnival's coming up but Talon's gotta tell me if he wants more and how much he wants before I bother taking it to him." We left the ranch's boundary.

"Romani told me about your dad," I said sadly with a grimace.

"What did she tell you?" Cremia stiffened, her voice cold.

"About _them_ and the barn and the cows or something."

"My father had a heart attack last year. He was tending to the cows in the morning and his illness took over. There are no aliens trying to steal our cows. Romani has an over-active imagination, nothing more." I was taken aback. I just had to offend her, didn't I?

"Oh…either way, I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. I don't dwell on his death too much. You see, he was a single parent and when he died, I inherited the ranch. Running this place is a full-time job." She never looked at me as she spoke. I wondered just how much damage the ranch has done to her. If she never had to make these deliveries and meet these deadlines she could be as carefree as her sister.

"We're here," Cremia announced as we pulled into the town's eastern gate. "This is Clock Town."

"Thanks for the ride, Cremia." I smiled at her; I really did owe her so much. "It would've taken me forever to walk here alone."

"Hey…that reminds me. Where're Tatl and Tael?" she asked, looking me up and down as though I stuffed them in my pockets.

"I don't actually know." Panic struck me. They had to be around somewhere but I had not seen them since I woke up and went to practice with Romani. I glanced around nervously. How would they react when they realised I'd left without them?

"We're here, you lazy kid!" I heard Tatl call, appearing with her brother from the wagon.

"Where'd you guys come from?" I asked incredulously, just glad I hadn't lost my friends.

"We tagged along. You don't think we're deaf, do you?" Tatl replied shortly. I hadn't known her that long but I knew she was only joking around.

"You said we were playing hide and seek, sis," Tael grumbled.

"Anyways, I'd better go tell Talon his milk is here. Why don't you go explore the town? Maybe talk with Anju about getting somewhere to stay here? I mean, you're welcome to stay at the ranch with Romani and me but I'd hate to have to drag you back when you'd rather be here," Cremia said, walking through the main gate. I followed her with the two fairies.

Clock Town was a strange place. At least, the east of it was. There was a bar, the inn Cremia mentioned and some game houses. There was also the mayor's house up a small hill. I gazed in awe at the rainbow of juggling balls flying over my head between two identical throwers.

"So what should we do first?" Tael questioned eagerly.

"I dunno, really. Maybe we should go talk to Anju? I mean, Cremia did suggest it," I replied.

"Sure. Sounds like a plan to me," Tatl affirmed. We strolled across the way and entered the dreary-looking Stock Pot Inn. The door slammed shut behind us and I was actually surprised it stayed in one piece. There was no one at the reception desk so I sat down to wait for Anju.

"Come on!" Tatl buzzed overhead. "This way. I can hear people." She flew over to the hallway that led around the stairs. I followed her reluctantly. This was going to be embarrassing.

"What is this, Tortus?" an elderly woman's voice flowed out of the first door we came across.

"It's stew, grandma," another woman's voice replied with a tone of exasperation.

"It tastes like you stepped on a fish and boiled it in sour milk," the first voice snapped back. "Are you trying to kill me, Tortus?"

"No. A lot of people like my cooking. I don't know why you can't," the younger woman sighed.

"Because your cooking tastes like you stepped on a fish and boiled it in sour milk."

"Well, either eat it or don't. I give up. The one person who counts likes my cooking."

"And who might that be?"

"Kafei."

"Not this Kafei nonsense again, Tortus. Are you trying to tell me you're going out with another boy? I will not have my son going around with another man!"

"For the last time, I am not Tortus. Tortus was my dad. I am Anju, your granddaughter!"

"I think I can recognise my own granddaughter, Tortus. Impossible child. Take this food back to the kitchen and feed it to the birds or something without taste."

"If you insist." The door opened and a tall woman with rustic-coloured hair came out, a tray in her hands. She looked on the verge of tears.

"Um…excuse me? Are you Anju by any chance?" Tatl asked softly. The woman looked down at us.

"Yes, I am. Um…are you guests?" She looked genuinely confused.

"No. No we're not," Tatl informed her. "We're guests of Cremia up at the Romani Ranch and she suggested that we talk to you about possibly getting a place to stay in Town. We came to Termina pretty recently and have no money or anywhere to stay."

"Oh. That's a shame," Anju sympathised, walking toward the kitchen. We followed quickly. "We're fully booked but Mr. Link isn't due to arrive until Monday, I think, so you can stay in the Knife Chamber on the second floor until then."

"Are you serious? Thank you so much!" I nearly exploded with a mixture of excitement and gratitude. People here were so friendly and nice to each other it didn't matter that I was an outsider.

"Hehe, it's fine. Here, I'll get you the key." She smiled, strolling back to the desk having dealt with the tray. "Oh. Um…where did I put it?" she muttered, looking in various drawers.

"Is this it?" Tael asked, hovering near a shelf. Anju walked over and inspected it.

"It is! Thank you. I'm always forgetting where I'm putting things," she laughed.

I walked around the desk and up the stairs, muttering thanks to Anju repeatedly as I went. People just seemed inclined to help others. My heart warmed to the town already. I love it here.

"This is it: the Knife Chamber. What a gruesome title for a room," Tatl observed. The lock clunked and echoed around the hall. It was a fairly shabby looking room with the wallpaper peeling off and bits of the bed covers stained by what looked like coffee. I sat down on the bed and looked out of the window overlooking a small park. Termina was amazing and the people treated me like an equal. I was the happiest I'd ever been.

I sat on the moth-eaten bed, admiring my new 'home.' I didn't know when or if I'd be able to leave this place for one of my own but I guess we had to be out for that Link dude coming to town - it's only fair, he did book the room.

"What're we gonna dooooo…?" Tael questioned, bouncing around the rafters. I giggled at how quickly he got bored.

"Well, we could go exploring Clock Town a bit more or sit here and relax a bit, I guess," his sister suggested.

"It's only three in the afternoon; exploring really does sound like a good idea, hey?" I was eager to meet more of the nice people Termina was home to.

As the Stock Pot Inn door slammed itself shut behind me again, I felt the sun bathe me in its light. It was an incredible feeling. I don't think I really understood or appreciated a sunny day before. Things just seemed sweeter here; everything was nicer.

Although there were so many game stores in the east ward of Clock Town, we were left disappointed by not being able to play them. Every store required some form of weaponry that we just didn't have. Some waned bombs, some wanted bows. Though I don't think I would've played at 'Honey and Darling's' shop even if I did have the bombs. They looked as though they were gonna just kiss even in front of a kid like me. It was kinda awkward.

The only other building worth investigating in the east wing was the Mayor's office in the north section. It was so lavish; plants lined each wall and the rooms were painted with an elegant gold. At the end of a short hallway, there was a single desk dividing the room into two doors. The receptionist kept chewing gum and looking at me funny. Her hair was green and she kept smiling really silly.

"Hey there, little guy. What're you doing in here?" she asked, dragging out every second word.

"Er…I'm new in town so I'm taking a quick peek around." I smiled at her.

"Oh, so you thought you'd drop by and see the mayor, huh?"

"Oh. No. I'm sure he doesn't want to waste his time with a little kid like me," I said quickly, worried I'd done something wrong.

"Don't be silly, little guy. Mayor Dotour is the coolest mayor, he loves to talk to everyone even if they just walk in off the street. That's how he won the elections 'n' has been mayor for…oh…about four years now. BUT, he's in a meeting so I don't think you can go in right now." She ended her sentence with a frown. I guess even the government here is nice!

"On the other hand," she continued. "Madame Aroma, the Mayor's wife, is free. She might be a little grumpy if you bother her because she's working out wedding plans with her son. Yasee, he's getting married in about a week."

"Aw, that's so nice," Tatl swooned. "Who's he getting married to?"

"Oh…er….he's getting married to that girl from the Stock Pot Inn. Anjie, is it?" I took a step back; she sounded kinda angry now.

"You mean Anju?" I managed out. Though I instantly wished I hadn't.

"Yeah, her," the lady snapped at me.

"Is there something wrong?" Tatl asked.

"No. Not really," she mumbled. Feeling a bit awkward and a little scared, I took hasty steps toward the door. We could always come back and see the Mayor after this girl's shift was over.

"Hm. Where else should we go?" Tael pressed once we found ourselves back in the soothing sunlight.

"Lets go," Tatl started, pausing to think. "Hm, this way!" She zoomed through a large archway next to the mayor's house. Her brother and I happily followed at a slow run. I took a quick peek through the arch to discover a luscious garden. There was a wide path leading to two other archways on either side of the garden. There was a guard standing at the passage to our right and a kid who looked about my age popping balloons with a blowpipe.

"Hey," I said nervously, walking up to the boy.

"Yeah?" he replied sharply, turning to glare at me.

"Hi," I tried again. "I'm the Skull Kid. What's your name?'

"I'm Jim, the leader of the Bombers. And I'm practicing with my blowpipe if you don't mind." Maybe not _every_one in Termina was as nice as I thought. Part of me wanted to get away from this kid too but my curiosity got the better of me.

"Er…who is the Bombers?" I asked, feeling incredibly stupid.

"Not _who,_ _what_." He gave me a funny look; probably trying to figure out if I was making fun of him. "The Bombers Secret Society of Justice, you've heard of us, right?" I was confused about why he was asking me if I'd heard of his secret society.

"Sorry, I'm new here. What's it about?"

"Well." I finally had his full attention. "There're six of us at the moment and we try to help people in this bad world by doing good deeds. You know, try to bring a bit of happiness to people's lives."

"You mean a bunch of kids are trying to right the wrongs of the world?" Tatl remarked only to be met by a dirty look from Jim.

"That sounds awesome!" I announced, beaming. "Can I join?" I was eager to give back to the community that had been so good to me over the past day or so.

"Hm…I'll have to check with the guys." Jim pulled a whistle out of his pocket and blew into it. I covered my ears from the noise and screwed my eyes shut. I was shocked to find another four boys dressed identically to Jim standing in a line when I opened them.

"So, guys, whatcha think? Should we let this guy join our group?"

"Hm," they hummed in unison. "He doesn't look…human." A lead weight fell into my stomach at those words.

"So?" Jim asked. "He doesn't look like one of the outsider beasts."

"True," the one of the far left agreed. "I say let him in!"

"Me too!"

"Yeah!"

"Mmm, sure." They chorused along the line. The weight lifted and the permanent joy I'd found in this place returned.

"All right, new guy, meet me outside the Clock Tower in about an hour and I'll talk you through the basics. You know where that is, right?"

"Er…"

"It's in South Clock Town," the red-capped head sighed. "Take this path and it'll take you out behind the tower, then you just walk around it. Got that?" I nodded vigorously in response before heading to South Clock Town to make sure I wasn't late to meet Jim on account of getting lost.

"Well that was a complete waste," the female fairy assessed the situation.

"Why? I think it'll be really good to help people, especially since Cremia and Anju have been so nice to us."

"Yeah, sis. We need to give back," Tael jumped to my side.

"But they're just kids. And so are you for that matter! What can you possibly do to help people that they can't do themselves?" 

"I dunno but I guess we'll be told in an hour."

The south area of Clock Town was definitely the biggest and busiest. In the middle, this huge stone tower reached into the sky; and on its side there was a massive clock that sounded throughout the town.

"That's the Clock Tower, hey?" Tael fawned over the architectural masterpiece.

"I'd assume so," Tatl remarked. Tael didn't notice the sarcasm in her voice; probably for the best.

"Tourists, ey?" There was a rough voice that came from over my shoulder, causing me to jump. Heart pounding, I turned around to see a rough man. Hair lined both his arms and his jaw was as square as a box.

"Um, yes. I just got here today." I cursed myself for sounding so timid but I didn't want to offend anyone, I suppose.

"Aye, I ain't seen ya 'round here before. You're ahead of the crowd, but not by much," he added.

"Ahead of what crowd? Crowd for what?" Tatl asked.

"The Carnival of Time, of course!"

"Um, what's that, sorry?"

"Once a year around this time, Clock Town hosts the Carnival of Time. People come from all around to see it. They all wear masks they make themselves. It's incredible."

"Really? I've never heard of that before," Tatl reflected.

"Well of course ya ain't," the brute confirmed. "You only just got here the day, eh?"

"True," Tatl mumbled. I could tell she wished she had kept her mouth shut; I felt a twang of empathy for the embarrassed fairy.

"So people really like this Carnival?" I asked, immediately wishing I hadn't stated the obvious.

"Aye. It's probably the most important event Clock Town has!" I smiled. We arrived just in time for a massive celebration.

"Oi, Mutoh!" another harsh voice called. "Can ya come over 'ere for a minute? Need your help to get this plank in place." Our new acquaintance turned to face another large man who was holding a huge piece of wood.

"Aye, sure!" Mutoh called back. "Be there in a sec." He turned back to us, "Enjoy the Carnival."

"What d'you make of that?" Tael asked, not taking his eyes off the back of Mutoh.

"I say it's party time!" I cheered, grinning.

"Yeah, but we don't have any masks…let alone any that we've made ourselves," Tatl pointed out. Although I didn't like it, she was right.

"Aww, sis, you haveta ruin everything!" the younger fairy whined.

"It's okay, Tael. I'm sure we can get a mask somewhere. Besides, it's not like they're gonna force fairies to wear them." I shrugged and looked up at the clock: it was already quarter past two. Jim shouldn't be too much longer with our introduction.

After a while waiting, I heard a child's voice calling out:

"HEY! Fairy kid! Come over here." I turned to see who was calling and saw a red bandana disappear around the other side of the Clock Tower. Hailing the fairy siblings, I followed it.

"Hey, Jim. There you are." I smiled at the boy. "By the way, I'm the Skull Kid and these are Tatl and Tael, my friends."

"Hi. Anyway, what you need to do is find people who need help. Then you solve their problems and make them happy. That's how the Bombers work. When you help someone, you get a sticker in your notebook." He handed me a small bound book with a yellow cover emblazoned with a large red 'B'.

"That's it? I just need to, like, do chores for people and stuff?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that but sure, whatever helps you understand. OH! And before I forget, have you been to East Clock Town?"

"Um, yeah. Why?"

"Did you see a kid in a yellow bandana? He was standing near an alley near the Mayor's house."

"Err." I wracked my memory. "I think so…"

"Okay, good.. He was guarding our secret hideout. He'll only let you pass if you tell him the secret code."

"What's the code?" seemed the obvious question.

"It's printed on the inside of your notebook," Jim said with a wink and ran off back to North Clock Town. I ran my hand over the cover of my notebook. It didn't feel like it was very good quality. I suppose he just made it himself.

"It took him an hour to tell us that?" Tatl spat.

"Maybe he lives outside of town and had to go get the book?" Tael suggested.

"Well…who cares! Lets go get some stickers!" I beamed, happily walking toward a random door.

"Halt!" a guard called, raising his hand to stop us getting past.

"Err…what's wrong, sir?" I asked tentatively, afraid I'd wandered into more trouble.

"The Southern Swamp and Woodfall lie in this direction. It is unsafe for someone to be walking around outside the town walls without a weapon."

"Err…" I stammered.

"It's okay, we live by the Southern Swamp. We made our way into town on our horse. He's waiting outside the gates for us right now," Tatl told the guard, whose expression immediately changed to incredulity.

"_You_ own a horse?" he asked, eying me up and down. I shuffled uncomfortably under his gaze; I did not like being judged.

"As a matter of fact, he does. I think if was can manage to get here, we can manage to get back in broad daylight." Tatl's crisp tone snapped the guard's attention to her.

"I see. Well, go right ahead and take care." He saluted slowly, stepping aside. I smiled uneasily at him before walking through the gateway.

"Nice work, sis." Tael winked at his sister.

"Pff, it was easy. I mean, how dangerous could it be?"


End file.
